BBQ Sauce & Ribs

 

I love BBQ sauce and have collected several recipes to make my own over the last two years but for one reason or another I just never got around to actually making it.  Last weekend I bought some ribs at the grocery and thought I would try my own sauce. I had a bottle of store bought waiting in the pantry incase mine failed. 

I'm a sweet BBQ sauce girl, I like my sauce thick and sweet and a little smoky but not too much. When I found  Erica Lea's version I thought it was the perfect first-time homemade sauce to try. I didn't have liquid smoke which the original recipe calls for and like I said, I don't love a super smokey sauce so I just left that out. I also heated my sauce so it could reduce and thicken a bit, plus I really like my sauce to be warm.

I love this sauce and will be making more of it. The ribs turned out great and I cannot wait to make them again. Previously I made my ribs in the oven but this time the crock pot did all the work and the results were probably better, in my opinion. The meat was super tender and fell right off the bone which is how I like my ribs. Next time you want some BBQ, make your own sauce. It's really easy and I liked this sauce a little better than the bottled stuff I normally buy.

BBQ Sauce 

Adapted From: Cooking for Seven

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 (6 oz.) Can Tomato Paste

1 Cup Maple Syrup

1/4 Cup & 2 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar

1 1/2 Tablespoons Onion Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

3/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 Teaspoon Chili Powder

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat over medium low heat until warm.

For the ribs:

I purchased one package of spare ribs and cut them into 4 servings of 4 ribs each. I placed them in the crock pot and cooked on low for 4-5 hours. Then I poured 1 cup of the BBQ sauce over the ribs and cooked 1 more hour. When serving, I like to brush extra sauce on my ribs but that's my personal preference.

This recipe can easily be doubled and you can give your friends and family some sauce. Is there anything better than a homemade gift? Not in my opinion!

Do you have a favorite BBQ sauce?

Giardiniera

Alright, I have to tell you a secret.  I'm a little obsessed with reality TV shows.  I honestly don't watch all that much TV but if there is a good reality show marathon on a weekend, a weekend when I'm doing nothing, then you just might find me curled up in my chair with a blanket and chips indulging in TV.  I really didn't know I had this problem until my husband brought it to my attention.  We were watching "Top Shot", have you seen this show?  I think the new season was starting the following week so they were running the whole previous season the weekend before.  There wasn't anything else on so we stayed up FAR too late one Saturday night watching to see who would win.  I think we were on the 4th or 5th show when I asked Steve who he wanted to win and he said he didn't really care.  Of course, I told him who I wanted to win (a man from TN who was just a good ole country boy, he won by the way) and Steve said, "Yeah, you'll watch anything that's a reality TV show where you get to pick someone you like and hope they'll win."  Well, he said something like that anyway, I can't remember his exact words. 

So, I started thinking.....back to all the reality shows I'd watched in the past where there was a "winner" at the end.  Yup, he might be on to something.  I can get into almost any of those shows : "Survivor", "Design Star","Next Top Model", "Top Shot" and at the time I was still watching "Next Food Network Star".  I got hooked on that last year when Aarti (love her accent) won...she was my favorite.  This season was harder, there were a few people I really liked but in the end my ultimate favorite, Jeff won!  He was so much fun to watch and I really liked his show idea about sandwiches.  Of course, I've been watching his new show called "Sandwich King".  His first show is where I got this recipe for giardiniera.  I was surprised that Steve was looking forward to trying it and he LOVES it.  I really like it as well, but he likes it more than I do. 

Steve made his Steve-a-Rino sandwich the other night and we topped them off with this spicy giardiniera. It was amazing! Steve was really impressed with this and asked that we always have some in the fridge.  I don't know if we'll always have it, but it's good stuff and if my husband will eat it, it's a winner for sure!

Giardiniera
Source: Jeff Mauro

Ingredients:

2 cups water
1/4 cup table salt
3 carrots, small diced
1 cup cauliflower, tiny florets
6 serrano peppers, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk celery, diced small
1 red bell pepper, diced small
2 cups canola oil
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Combine water and salt in a glass bowl and mix until salt is completely dissolved.

Add all vegetables, stir to combine.  Cover bowl with plastic and put in refigerator over night. 

Drain and rinse veggies.  Place in a mason jar (or airtight jar of some sort) and add oil to cover vegetables.  Sprinkle oregano and black pepper on top, make sure lid is secure and give a little shake to distribute spices.

Allow mixture to marinate over night.  Keeps in refrigerator 2-3 weeks in an airtight jar.

 

Do any of you have a favorite reality TV show?